Author: Mark

Just a quick update to my Kuwait Airport Terminal 4 post from last week. In addition to Kuwait Airways GCC and Middle East flights, Kuwait Airways flights to and from Europe (excluding London) now also use the new terminal.

If you missed my previous post check it out [Here]

Last month I posted that the Ministry of Interior had decided not to allow the comedian Eddie Griffin entry into Kuwait and then retracted my post since the incident was denied by the event organizers. Today though, the event organizers shared the bad news that the event has in fact been banned. Below is the statement from the organizers:

For the last 8 years we have been working hard to bring world class entertainment and educational gurus to Kuwait.

Our last entertainment project was the Eddie Griffin stand up comedy show which unfortunately was banned today the 21st of October 2018 by the Ministry of Interior in Kuwait.

We respect all the rules and regulations of the state of Kuwait and hope that we can progress in our already existing rights and freedoms.

We would like to thank everyone who’s supporting us and believes in what we are doing and we promise that we will keep working hard to bring world class entertainment to Kuwait while still protecting our values as a society.

Also, for everyone who bought tickets to attend the Eddie Griffin show, you will be reimbursed through your bank accounts by our ticketing partner Eventat.com [Source]

No reason was given for the ban but most likely it has to do with Eddie Griffin’s religious beliefs (he’s an atheist) and previous religion-related sets which he’s performed. The strange thing is, Eddie Griffin had previously performed in Saudi Arabia which many believe to be more conservative than Kuwait, and Eddie Griffin is currently set to perform in three different Saudi cities over the next few days. So bizarre!

I’m not into the NFL but if you are then you’ll be interested to know that there is a pretty big NFL community in Kuwait. Since the weather has gotten better, they’ll be holding their first NFL viewing event of the season tonight in Salmiya. The viewings are outdoors and the games are projected on a large screen and there’s always food and lots of seating. So if you’re interested, you can get more details [Here]

Oh G! is an ice cream business that I found out about from a friend. I had originally tried their ice creams at Tampopo last week and thought they were delicious so when I found out Oh G! had provided the ice creams, I decided to order some for me.

At Tampopo I had tried two flavors of for dessert, a dark chocolate with sea salt, and a Yuzu ice cream. But, Oh G! change flavors every week and when I wanted to place an order from them they had the following flavors for me to choose from:

Naughty
– Dark Chocolate Sea Salt
– Dark Roast Arabica Coffee

Nice (v)
– Banana Brûlée Walnut
– Peanut Butter & Cacao Nibs

I ended up ordering a pint of each except for the peanut butter since I hate peanut butter (Note: I really hate peanut butter). All three flavors were delicious with my favorite combination being mixing the dark chocolate with the banana brûlée together and eating it like that (Note: I really love banana mixed with chocolate). The pints cost KD4.5 to KD5 depending on the flavor and they’re good enough for 6-8 scoops so they’re not overly expensive. If you’re an ice cream fan and are looking for a new place to try ice cream from then give Oh G! a try. They’re on instagram @ohg.kw

Below is a list of this weekends events, there are more events listed on the events page so make sure you check that out as well. Have fun!

Thursday
Exhibition: 50 Years of Architecture in Kuwait
Exhibition: Cultural Narratives
Exhibition: Memory of Peru
A Night of Musical Theatre Classics
Shinsawi Outdoor Cinema: Baby Driver
IFK Garden – Omrani and Fabrice
DJ Boi Skout at Bunka

Friday
Exhibition: 50 Years of Architecture in Kuwait
Exhibition: Cultural Narratives
Exhibition: Memory of Peru
A Night of Musical Theatre Classics

Saturday
Exhibition: 50 Years of Architecture in Kuwait
Exhibition: Cultural Narratives
Exhibition: Memory of Peru
Korea-Arab Friendship Caravan

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double check with the organizers.

Screenshot from First Man

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas, Sky Cinemas and VOX:

New This Weekend:
Accident (3.4)
First Man (7.7)
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (6.3)
Legend of a Rabbit: The Martial of Fire (5.7)
Mandy (6.8)
The Old Man & the Gun (7.4)

Other Movies Showing Now:
A Star Is Born (8.5)
Bad Times at the El Royale (7.7)
Johnny English Strikes Again (6.7)
My Giraffe (7.1)
Searching (7.9)
Smallfoot (6.8)
The House with a Clock in Its Walls (6.0)
The Nun (7.0)
The Princess and the Dragon (4.2)
Venom (7.1)

The movies below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

Movies Showing Now:
Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
Interstellar (8.6)
Oceans: Our Blue Planet (7.4)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.

I just found out that the popular British online food delivery company Deliveroo is coming to Kuwait. Deliveroo is the British equivalent to Carriage and they operate in over two hundred cities including Dubai. Kuwait is going to be a pretty tough market for them since Carriage and Talabat have the market cornered here, but competition is always great for us.

I’ve had my eyes on the Sony noise canceling headphones ever since their first generation was launched a few years ago, then last year I was tempted to get their second generation (the XM2’s), but never ended up pulling the trigger. Then, a few months ago, Sony surprised everyone by launching their third generation XM3 headphones and they instantly became a huge hit. Many were calling it the best wireless noise canceling headphones you can buy and most of the reviewers agreed that they were miles ahead of the popular BOSE QC35 II. I decided I wanted one.

Since the headphones had just been released a couple of months back and were super popular, they were sold out at every US and UK retailer I checked from Amazon, to BestBuy to Currys. Even on eBay they were being sold at ridiculous prices. After a week of searching, I finally found a retailer in Australia that was selling them at retail price and I ended up ordering my pair from there and shipping them to my Australian Shop&Ship address. Surprisingly, Aramex were pretty quick with the shipping and I managed to get my pair delivered this past Thursday just before I traveled to Dubai. After using them while working out of Arabica and then again on the plane, I’m in shock at how good these are.

For those of you who’ve been reading my blog for years, you probably know I have an obsession with headphones. I actually just found a list of some of the headphones (and earphones) I’ve owned:

AKG K81 DJ
Bang & Olufsen A8
Bang & Olufsen H5
Beats by Dre
BeyerDynamic DT770 600ohm
Sennheiser Adidas PMX 680i
Sennheiser IE80
Sennheiser PX100
Sennheiser PX100-II
Sennheiser PXC250
Shure E2
Shure SE210
Shure SE215
Sony MDR-XB500
UE Super.fi 5 Pro
UE Triple.Fi 10 Pro

So I’ve used a lot of headphones over the years but my current go-to pair when traveling were the fantastic Sennheiser IE80. They sounded terrific and because they were wired, it meant they never ran out of batteries. But they had two issues, the first being they were wired, wireless is more practical of course especially on a plane. The second issue I had was with the comfort, the IE80’s are in-earphones so on long trips my ears would get really warm and sweaty. I wanted a new travel pair and these Sony’s solved all my issues.

Firstly, the Sony’s are wireless, but they also have a 30-hour battery life which means even on my longest flight to LA, I’d be able to use the headphones on the plane, during transit and still get to LA with lots of battery left. Secondly, the Sony’s are super comfortable. I haven’t used them yet for more than 2-3 hours at one go, but so far they’ve been extremely comfy. The Sony’s fit around my ears so they aren’t applying any pressure on them and the padding is super soft. The most important aspect of these Sony’s and what really makes them so great is the noise cancelation abilities. I haven’t used a lot of noise-canceling headphones but people who have say these are the best ones you can buy right now. I’m going to believe them because based on my experience this past weekend, they work like magic. On the plane, they COMPLETELY cancel out the lound rumbling engine sound, my flight to Dubai and back was extremely quiet and peaceful. Every time I took the headphones off I was actually in shock at how loud the plane was without them. I actually feel that way whenever I take the headphones off after using them anywhere. We are surrounded by so much sound everywhere we go and we don’t tend to realize it because we’re so used to it. These headphones really transport you into a quiet space, so you’ll get the library silence wherever you are. They aren’t perfect, while using them at Arabica, if I didn’t have any music playing I could still kinda hear people chattering.

The headphones have a lot of cool features and can even be connected to an app that allows you to control the amount of ambient sound they let in, but, I’m not going to go into too many details since you could watch or read more comprehensive reviews online. What I will say is this, these Sony’s sound great, are super comfortable and kill the sound around you so good that you won’t believe it.

If you’re interested in a pair I couldn’t find any place locally to get them and they’re still hard to get online. BUT, while I was at the Duty Free in Dubai I spotted them being sold there and for around KD110. So if you have a trip to Dubai planned or know someone traveling, let them get you a pair. Here is a link to them on Amazon but they’re out of stock as of this post [Link]

Here’s a good business opportunity if you’re looking for one, get the distribution rights for Element fire extinguishers! I first heard about these fire extinguishers on one of the Lotus car forums since guys there are always looking to try and save weight. But then Jay Leno had the Element guys on his YouTube show Jay Leno’s Garage and after watching it, I ended up buying two for myself. I would have actually bought more so I could give them to my friends but I wanted to see if PostaPlus would ship them first.

What makes these fire extinguishers so special is mainly the size and weight, they’re extremely small and lightweight and yet in most cases perform much better than the larger old-fashioned fire extinguishers that use compressed air canisters. Not only that but the Element is also non-toxic and doesn’t create a white mess. Since I’m pretty limited with space in my Lotus, I decided to get the Element so I can just velcro it under my dashboard.

The model I got from Element costs around KD20 and lasts for around 50 seconds. In comparison, an old-fashioned fire extinguisher (similar to the one you probably have in your car) costs approximately KD7, lasts around 15 seconds and is much larger and heavier than the Element.

Even though I managed to get my Element fire extinguishers shipped by PostaPlus, it did take around two months time. That mostly had to do with them researching the product and making sure it was safe to ship and wasn’t hazardous since they had never shipped them before. Theoretically, the next time anybody orders the Element they shouldn’t have to go through this long process, but I also don’t want to risk it. I still need to get a couple of more Elements so I can keep at home, so someone please get the distribution rights, I really think these would sell like hotcakes in Kuwait!

Earlier this year, Dubai started installing a new Smart Gate system at their terminals which I only found out about this past weekend. The new system allows you to go through passport control in around 10 seconds and it’s available to use by GCC nationals and biometric passport holders from 37 countries.

Signing up is super easy. On arrival, I went through the regular passport control and while getting my passport stamped I asked to be signed up to Smart Gate. And that was it really, passport control didn’t take longer than usual and I got a cute DXB Smart Gate sticker on the back of my passport letting me know I’ve been signed up to Smart Gate. There are no fees and you don’t need a special card like their previous e-gate system required you to use.

On departure, I skipped the long passport control line and headed straight through using the Smart Gate and it worked! Super simple, super quick and I really can’t wait till we get something similar here in Kuwait. It would make our old airport wayyyy more bearable!

Smart gates can be used by UAE citizens and residents, GCC nationals and passport holders from the following countries: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US. For more information on the DXB smart gates, click [Here]

Al Mulla Group have officially announced that they’re the new Mercedes-Benz distributor in Kuwait. Al Bisher & Al Kazemi have been the dealers for Mercedes-Benz in Kuwait since the 1950s so its a pretty big deal that its now going to Al Mulla Group.

Al Mulla Group are already distributors to a number of car brands in Kuwait including Acura, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, and Mitsubishi. They officially takeover Mercedes from January 1st and you can read more about it in their official press release [Here]

Imad Alhamad is a Kuwaiti living in Dubai and he recently released his debut EP ‘Black Rabbit’ under the pseudonym ‘Ray & The Fool’. His style is alternative rock and the EP is available to listen to on Soundcloud (below), Spotify and iTunes.

If you’d like to stay up to date with Imad’s music, you can sign up for music alterts on his website [Here]

Over the weekend I flew to Dubai with Kuwait Airways, and so got to fly in and out of the new Kuwait Airways terminal, terminal 4. The terminal still has a lot of work to be done to it and so a lot of changes are still happening, but as of October 15th, the below information is accurate.

Right now, only GCC and Middle East Kuwait Airway flights use the new terminal.

Departure

– The exit from highway 50 to terminal 4 is still closed and the terminal 4 sign has been covered. The only way to get to the new terminal is through the cargo terminal exit (there are signs).

– There is plenty of parking, all shaded and right now for free. They haven’t installed entry or exit gates so you could park your car there short term or long term and not pay anything. This is a huge plus.

– None of the self-check-in machines work. I tried the ones on the parking side, I tried the ones inside the main terminal, none of them worked.

– You only have one security checkpoint which is right after passport control. The security guys didn’t seem very confident but were wayyyy better than the Jazeera Airways terminal guys. They have the full-body scanners but they weren’t being used. I wonder if they will ever be used here? When the scanners were launched in the States, people had privacy concerns because you could see the shapes of private parts with these scanners, I think people in Kuwait will have an even bigger problem with this.

– There is no duty-free yet, there are no shops whatsoever at T4 right now.

– There are currently no restaurants at T4. Your only options for food and drinks at the moment are 2 Costa kiosks and 1 Kuwait Airport kiosk. Both kiosks sold coffee, water, sandwiches etc..

– There is a lounge (pictured above) but only for Kuwait Airways business class and first class passengers. So if you have a platinum Visa card, American Express or any other card that usually gives you entry to lounges at airports, you’re out of luck.

– One SUPER strange thing about the airport was the PA announcement chime. In airports before they make an announcement, you’d here like a ding dong like chime before the announcement. For some reason at T4 the chime they’re using is the same one used for The Undertaker’s walkout music. I’m not exaggerating, watch the video above and then watch the video below. Every time they made an announcement I was expecting the lights to go off and the Undertaker to make an appearance. Such a weird chime to use at an airport.

– There was plenty of seating around the airport spread out over two floors. All the seats have power sockets and USB ports although I had to try a few before I found working ones. I’m not sure if the seating will be enough when all Kuwait Airways flights start using the terminal, but for now, there is plenty.

Arriving at the airport, parking, checking in, going through passport control and then security was all a smooth and pleasant experience. There were some minor issues, but understandable for a newly opened airport.

Arrival

– This was super smooth. The plane was fairly empty so passport control was a breeze.

– Right after passport control is a carry-on baggage security check, this is the only time you scan your bags. The luggage that comes out on the conveyor belts already passed through a scanner before coming out so you just pick them up and walk out of the airport.

Overall a pretty positive experience. When I travel to Dubai I usually take FlyDubai but this time the Kuwait Airways ticket price was cheaper so figured I’d try them out. I’ll most likely fly out with Kuwait Airways again next time because of the new terminal and my positive experience. I could nitpick a lot of course but honestly, ANYTHING is better than our old airport, so I’m just glad we have this new terminal to keep us going until the new airport opens up in a few years.

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments.

Update: As of October 22, 2018 the new Terminal T4 is now open for services for all Kuwait Airways Flights To/From GCC, Middle East and Europe except for London.

Henley & Partners released their Visa Restrictions Index for 2018 and Kuwait ranked 55th with visa-free access to 93 destinations. UAE ranked the highest in the Gulf ranking 21st with visa-free access to 161 destinations. Here are how some other countries ranked:

1 – Japan (190)
5 – USA, UK (186)
6 – Canada (185)
21 – UAE (161)
55 – Kuwait (93)
60 – Qatar (85)
64 – Bahrain (81)
67 – Oman (78)
70 – Saudi Arabia (75)
75 – Philippines (66)
81 – India (60)
100 – Lebanon (41)
106 – Afghanistan (30)

How did your country rank? Check out the full list [Here]

The weekend is here and there are quite a few things to do including a vinyl pop-up on Saturday. Check out the full list of this weekends events below:

Thursday
Exhibition: 50 Years of Architecture in Kuwait
The Michael Jackson Sing-Along Concert
DAI Movie Night: The Ballad of Narayama
Exhibition: The Human Experience

Friday
Exhibition: 50 Years of Architecture in Kuwait
The Michael Jackson Sing-Along Concert
Shinsawi: Dodgeball Battle

Saturday
Exhibition: 50 Years of Architecture in Kuwait
Guided Tour: Grand Mosque
Vinyl Destination Pop-up

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double check with the organizers.